Aroma: Floral hops, some lemon citrus, quite sweet, caramelly, nice amount of bitterness, your standard India Pale Ale you'd expect to see on the prairies (or east). Very inviting. It kept its original scents really well from being canned all the way in Toronto.

Taste: A florally bitter India Pale Ale, a decent balance of hops throughout every sip. Nowhere as hoppy/bitter as most hop snobs would like, but a casual beer drinker would appreciate it. A hint of lemony citrus, some grassy notes, overall a decent IPA.

Now onto the challenger Double Trouble's Hops & Robbers brewed by Dead Frog Brewing!Appearance: A slightly hazy hazy, golden strawy IPA. Nice amount of carbonation, and a nice off-white creamy head that graces the edge of the glass with no problem. Comes in a 650mL bomber.

Aroma: Freshly cut alfalfa hay that was drenched by a recent rain storm at my farm. A bit of caramel citrus, a bit of a maltiness and a smidge of hops.

Taste: Starts off a bit of a caramel malt, with a bit of cereals to it. Reminiscent to some better prairie pilsners out there. The hoppiness makes an appearance, but late in the game as the aftertaste, as it leaves an alfalfa bitterness on the palate. This tastes more like an Amber Ale than an India Pale Ale, more grassy notes.

The Winner: The original, the Hops and Robbers straight out of Double Trouble Brewing in Toronto, Ontario. Dead Frog gave a fight, but it just couldn't compare to the ORIGINAL Hops & Robbers brew. The original was just more hoppy, more bitter, more citrus. While the Dead Frog variety was more of an Amber Ale with more of a farm fresh aroma to it. Both were decent brews, but the original wins this one, easily.

Cody Lobreau

Welcome to BeerCrank.ca! I'm a bit obsessed about craft beer, especially Canadian craft beer so I mainly review Canadian beer but I love to try beer from all over the world as well. My goal is to help influence the casual beer drinker to go out and expand their beer palate one way or another. Feel free to send some feedback!
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